CASSOPOLIS — This weekend, several area churches will be teaming up to help fight hunger both at home and overseas.

The Edwardsburg Presbyterian Church is organizing Cass County’s annual Crop Hunger Walk Sunday at the Cass County Council on Aging, 60525 Decatur Road, Cassopolis. Crop Hunger Walk is a national movement where communities around the country take donations and pledges to walk to raise money to end hunger both at home and around the world. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Crop Hunger Walks and the 31st year one has been hosted in Cass County. On Sunday, registration will begin at 1:30 p.m., while the walk will start at 2 p.m. Dogs are also welcome.

“This is a great cause,” said Edwardsburg Food Pantry President and Edwardsburg Presbyterian Church Pastor Scott Scheel. “It’s a collaboration between a lot of churches in the county.”

During last year’s Cass County Crop Walk, $9,444 was raised. Seventy-five percent of all funds raised through the event go to support the overall ministry of Church World Service, especially grassroots, hunger-fighting development efforts around the world. The remaining 25 percent of funds are split between food pantries in Edwardsburg, Marcellus, Cassopolis, Dowagiac and Vandalia.

“It’s great because it helps those that really need it across the world and in Cass County,” Scheel said. “The money we get [for the Edwardsburg Food Pantry] might be $500, but it is a significant help. I’ve seen the other pantries in the area and how appreciative they are.”

During the Crop Walk, there will be stations set up along the walking trail to give participants a better understanding of the food issues the world faces today. One station will show how food prices have increased over the past 50 years. Another will help showcase the work that goes into digging a well. Participants will also have the option to carry a gallon of water with them along the walk to help show that individuals in countries without access to clean water in their homes have to transport water long distances.

“The theme is ‘We walk because they walk,’” Scheel said. “We walk one day in solidarity with people that have to walk for clean water every day to try to help them.”

Rain or shine, Scheel said the walk would be hosted Sunday. He hopes that the community will come out to walk both to support area food pantries but also to help fight hunger around the world.

“Come out and be a part of this,” he said. “It’s a good cause. It will be a lot of fun, and it will be educational.”

To learn more or to pick up a pledge sheet, call the Edwardsburg Presbyterian Church at (269) 663-6815. Donations can also be made at crophungerwalk.org.